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New York State Youth and Government
Overview The first state to adopt Youth and Government, the New York State program is 77 years old and serves over 550 delegates split up into 7 districts every year during the 4-day main conference in early March. The New York State program has a legislative, lobbyist, press, judicial, and Teddy Roosevelt program for middle school students. While a large part of the conference takes place in the State Captiol, a very large portion of the conference also takes place in the historic Desmond Hotel. Some New York State delegates are chosen to go to spring conference which usually takes place at the Desmond on the first weekend of April. Officers The New York State Youth and Government program currently has 10 presiding officer positions which include: *'Governor' - Elected by the entire New York State delegation. Responsible for appointing the 21 member cabinet, signing/vetoing bills, and presiding over the program as a whole. *'Lieutenant Governor' - Elected by the entire New York State delegation in an election separate from the governor elections. Presides over the senate, and manages the executive branch with the Governor. *'President Pro Tempore' - Elected by the delegates in the Senate Chamber. Presides over the senate with the Lieutenant Governor. *'Cheif Justice' - Elected by all judicial program participants. Presides over the attorney general case and the judicial program as a whole. *'Speaker of Assembly Liberty' - Elected by and presides over delegates in Assembly Liberty. *'Speaker of Assembly Freedom '- Elected by and presides over delegates in Assembly Freedom. *'Deputy Speaker of Assembly Liberty' - Elected by and presides over delegates in Assembly Liberty with the Speaker *'Deputy Speaker of Assembly Freedom '- Elected by and presides over delegates in Assembly Freedom with the Speaker *'Head Lobbyist' - Presides over the lobbyist program, gives all bill assignments. *'Editor-In-Cheif' - Presides over the press program, responsible for overseeing the completion of the dialectic newspaper, and running the Governor's press conference before elections. Legislative The New York State Youth and Government legislative program is composed of two assemblies (named freedom and liberty), and a senate. Before chambers convene, all bills are ranked in committee sessions. If a bill in either of the assemblies or the senate is passed, it goes to the governor for consideration. If the bill is vetoed, it returns to the chamber it was passed in for a potential veto override. Time is alloted on each bill for members of the lobbyist program to speak and potentially sway legislative delegates to either stop or pass a bill. Judicial The judicial program in New York State is composed of 4 mock cases, each supported by numerous pieces of actual New York State case law. New York does not have a mock trial component, and all of the proceedings in judicial more closely represent moot court (hearings only). These cases are rated by dificulty and attorney teams are assigned a case to present to a bench of youth justices against another attorney team on the same case. The judicial program also consists of Attoney General and Deputy Attorney general's cases which are based on consitutional law, rather than New York State law. The first attoney general's case takes place in front of the entire New York State delegation and its decision is read at the closing banquet. The Cheif Justice and Governor appoint the Attorney General, Deputy Attorney General, Public Defender, and Deputy Public Defender. Press Corps The delegates of the Press Corps program are responsible for writing and editing the dialectic newspaper during the conference, which includes conference news as well as issues from around the world. Press Corps is also responsible for posting articles on an online page throughout the year. Lobbyist The New York State lobbyist program is composed of delegates who don't have a vote in chambers but are guaranteed the opportunity to speak on any bills they are assigned by the head lobbyist. The lobbyist program also consists of principal lobbyists elected from each district that compose the Youth Advocacy Council (or YAC) and are responsible for leading the lobbying efforts for passed legislation in the actual New York State legislature at spring conference. Teddy Roosevelt Named after former New York State Assemblyman, Governor and President of the United States, the Teddy Roosevelt program is for middle school students and currently only includes a legislative session in which delegates write simple resolutions. Recreational Events and Traditions There are 2 dances at the march conference, the first is called the governor's ball, where candidates are announced and there is entertainment that differs from year to year. There is also a main dance, with a DJ that almost always takes the form of a regular party